A task force studying issues surrounding marijuana legalization in Delaware voted to release its final report Wednesday in a last, chaotic meeting that left some members questioning the validity of what they were doing and whether the public was being served well. A vote to release the report initially failed, as it had two weeks [...]

There’s a food crisis in Colorado, and it has nothing to do with crop yield, farm-to-table or availability of ingredients. Local restaurants are having a near-impossible time hiring and retaining cooks, and the effects may be showing up on the plate and in the check. The drum-tight unemployment rate and the frenetic pace of new [...]

For those who don't live in England, let me briefly explain to you what an off-license is. An off-license is simply a shop which is licensed to sell alcohol to be consumed off the shop's premises. Yeah they kind of act as students and general booze-lovers best friends. A police boss says cannabis should be [...]

In the lead-up to the Academy Awards, stars were invited to stop by a string of rooms at the Beverly Hilton to sip champagne, get a spa treatment and inspect the brands eager to find a place in celebrities’ lives and on their Instagram feeds. This year there was something new on offer – marijuana. [...]

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch abruptly changed course Monday, deciding her office will begin reviewing past marijuana-related crimes to reduce or expunge eligible convictions after saying last month it would not. The policy shift was issued late Monday afternoon after what she said was further consideration related to the 75 or so petitions the [...]

It would be difficult for the City of Los Angeles to create a bank to handle business from the marijuana industry, a report released this month says. The report, by the city’s chief legislative analyst, identified several potential roadblocks, including the need for changes to state and city law and potentially “exorbitant” startup costs. “Formation [...]

A photo that’s gone viral this week claims to show an IHOP restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri with a sign on its door that warns diners it will not serve or seat guests who smell of marijuana. In fact, the photo is over a year old and the restaurant welcomes all guests “without judgement, an [...]

UPDATE: Sessions is coming to California to announce that the federal government will sue California over its “sanctuary city” status as relates to immigration. There are not expected to be any announcements on cannabis: The Cannifornian will report promptly if that changes. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will make a “major” sanctuary city announcement Wednesday at [...]

The District Attorney’s Office for Sonoma County, California (population 502,000) is directing staff to review and vacate thousands of past marijuana convictions. County officials estimate that an estimated 3,000 cases are eligible for either a sentencing reduction or expungement. The Sonoma County D.A.’s actions follow those of district attorneys for Alameda County, San Diego County, and San Francisco — each of [...]

Two Albuquerque city councilors are pushing to decriminalize marijuana possession in cases where a person is caught with an ounce (28 grams) or less, saying their proposal will free up police time and resources to focus on more serious crimes. Councilors Pat Davis and Isaac Benton announced their proposal Monday to amend Albuquerque’s criminal code [...]

The California marijuana industry finds itself at an interesting crossroads: Excitement and convenience of the plant’s legalized recreational use intersects with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ initiative to roll back Obama-era guidance (i.e. Cole Memo). Until now, that guidance directed federal prosecutors and U.S. Attorneys to not focus federal resources on prosecuting cannabis-related offenses that [...]

State lawmakers are moving forward with a legislative proposal to significantly amend various provisions of the state’s 2016 voter-approved cannabis law: The Marijuana Legalization Act. Members of the Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee have voted 16 to 1 in favor of overhauling the law, which has yet to be fully implemented. Lawmakers had initially voted last year to [...]

Wisconsin farmers who want to grow industrial hemp can now apply for a state license. The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection began accepting applications Friday. The deadline to apply for the upcoming growing season is May 1. Hemp fiber and oil can be used in numerous products. Federal drug law doesn’t differentiate between [...]

Illinois voters would be able to say whether they support legalizing recreational marijuana under a proposal lawmakers have approved. Senators voted 37-13 Thursday to put a non-binding question on the November ballot. Chicago Democratic Sen. Bill Cunningham is the sponsor. He says the referendum question will act as a statewide opinion poll. The proposal now [...]

With cannabis usurping alcohol for many people in America as the go-to intoxicant, it only stands to reason that whatever alcohol can do for your social life, cannabis can do to or do in a different way. Coco Ono, wearing only hot pants and pot-leaf pasties, prepared an overstuffed and dripping peanut butter sandwich and [...]

New York City police are continuing to disproportionately arrest African Americans and Latinos for minor marijuana possession violations, despite ongoing pledges from Mayor Bill de Blasio to halt the practice. In 2017, city police made an estimated 17,500 arrests for marijuana possession in the 5th degree — a class B misdemeanor. Consistent with past years, 86 percent percent [...]

The California marijuana industry finds itself at an interesting crossroads: Excitement and convenience of the plant’s legalized recreational use intersects with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ initiative to roll back Obama-era guidance (i.e. Cole Memo). Until now, that guidance directed federal prosecutors and U.S. Attorneys to not focus federal resources on prosecuting cannabis-related offenses that [...]

A Denver coffee shop received city approval Monday for the nation’s first business license to allow marijuana use by patrons, The Denver Post’s Jon Murray first reported. The Coffee Joint soon can allow customers to vape or consume edibles they bring to the café at 1130 Yuma Court, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. No smoking will [...]

A federal district court judge in Manhattan today granted the government’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit that sought to challenge the constitutionality of cannabis’ prohibited status under federal law. The 98-page complaint, filed in July 2017 by a legal team that includes New York attorney Michael Hiller, NORML Legal Committee memberJoseph Bondy and Empire State NORML Director David Holland, contended that the federal [...]

A state lawmaker wants the state to relax its policies prohibiting organizers of festivals and other special events in California from allowing marijuana sales and use unless the event is at a county fairground. Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) said Monday he introduced a bill on behalf of the city of Oakland, which wants marijuana sales [...]

In January, California joined the growing list of places where the sale of recreational marijuana is allowed, and now one in five Americans lives in a state where buying pot can be a tourist activity. But if you’re considering traveling with pot, be careful. Marijuana is still an illegal drug under federal law and post-security areas at [...]

A Denver credit union aiming to serve the marijuana industry has received a Federal Reserve Bank’s blessing — albeit a conditional one — for the right to a master account. The Feb. 2 decision by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City to conditionally grant a master account to The Fourth Corner Credit Union marks [...]

Of the many cultural touchstones born on the streets of Compton, one of the most lasting is “The Chronic.” Dr. Dre’s classic 1992 album brought the nickname for high-grade cannabis into the mainstream, and, to the disdain of many Compton residents, cemented the city as the home of West Coast gangsta rap. It also gave [...]

The Association of German Criminal Officers (BDK) has spoken out in favour of ending the ban on cannabis and has called for the decriminalization of all use of the drug. "The prohibition of cannabis has historically been seen as arbitrary and has not yet been implemented in an intelligent and effective manner,” the head of [...]

It’s been a month since U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo, Obama-era Department of Justice guidance on enforcement of federal law in states that legalized marijuana in some form. Sessions’ marijuana policy shift didn’t just inject uncertainty into the legal cannabis industry — it empowered the Justice Department’s U.S. attorneys to enforce — or ignore — [...]

The legalization and regulation of marijuana for adults is associated with a drastic reduction in overall arrests, increased tax revenue, and is not adversely impacting public health or safety, according to a comprehensive report issued by the Drug Policy Alliance. Among the report’s highlights: • Marijuana arrests are down. Arrests for marijuana in all legal marijuana states and Washington, [...]

In a sparely furnished, exceptionally clutter-free office in Oakland, California, Mike Lynn is blowing into a black plastic box the size of a rat trap. It is making a loud, steady beep. An electronic blue bar on the side progresses. “It takes a certain amount of breath,” he says after around eight seconds, when the bar [...]

Well, I never thought this would be a problem! But nonetheless, Oregon has produced and is continuing to produce three times the amount of cannabis than those living within the state can actually consume. I have always worked on the basis that you can never have too much cannabis, evidently I was wrong. How and [...]

For decades, hidden in creases of the wild and rugged Santa Lucia Mountains, farmers have eked out a living growing some of the nation’s most esteemed cannabis, hanging onto the hope that someday they wouldn’t fear arrest. Marijuana in California is now legal. Yet the fate of farmers in Big Sur — the birthplace of [...]

With a massive spurt in legalisations in the past year, many still look at cannabis as the illicit substance it once was. This is largely due to the massive blackmarket industry which surrounds the substance, however, now it seems that a crackdown is imminent in a state where recreational cannabis has been legalised. Whether this [...]

To be honest, by now this seems like one of those 'well, duh' moments. Every time a city introduces recreational cannabis, we have the same results, overwhelming sales. For this reason, it seems strange that people still doubt the economic benefits which can be reaped from recreational marijuana. Not to mention the social benefits, but [...]

Emergency legislation enacted in January 2017 to delay the implementation of several provisions of Question 1: The Marijuana Legalization Act expired today. Proposed legislation in Maine’s House of Representatives to extend the moratorium until May 1, 2018 failed by a vote of 81 to 65. Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who opposed Question 1, had demanded lawmakers seek a nearly one-year [...]

San Francisco city officials announced plans yesterday to begin reviewing and automatically expunging thousands of past marijuana possession convictions. The District Attorney’s office says that it will review, dismiss, and seal an estimated 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions dating back to 1975. The office also intends to review and resentence many past felony convictions. Provisions in the state’s [...]

Elected officials from across Colorado are leading a national coalition of state politicians asking U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to convene a task force to align federal and state cannabis laws. The new organization calling itself Leaders for Reform on Wednesday sent a letter to Sessions condemning his Jan. 4 rescission of the Cole Memo and related [...]

Four lucky winners on Wednesday were awarded cannabis dispensary permits under a new program designed to help Oakland residents affected by the U.S. war on drugs. In a Bingo-style drawing held Wednesday inside City Hall, the city’s first equity permits were awarded to Alphonso T. Blunt Jr., Marshall Crosby, Rickey McCullough and Zhongzhang Yan, according [...]

This has been the question on many people's lips regarding the states and cities which have implemented any sort of cannabis program. Naturally, any state which regards cannabis as legal, or even simply not criminal, should then regard any who were arrested or charged in conjunction with the substance as innocent and not a criminal. [...]

Would've gone through if it wasn't for those pesky Republicans. Yeah, Virginia's cannabis hopes seem to be going down the drain since the Republican senators do not seem to be interested at all in the state's bill to decriminalise cannabis. A Virginia state Senate committee has voted to kill a bill that would decriminalize small [...]

California is considering setting up a state-owned bank for its newly legalised cannabis industry, which it says has to operate mainly in cash due to federal regulations blocking access to traditional banking. The issue has taken on a new urgency following the US justice department’s decision to end a hands-off policy towards the legalisation movement [...]

It's kind of the dream to have cannabis delivered to your door, right? You know like you would take-out food. This dream is very close to becoming a reality for those living in Colorado. The new leader of the pack of forward-thinking states who have really taken the idea of drug reform and ran with [...]

A second spell in prison has persuaded dedicated cannabis smoker Mike Dobson to give up growing the drug, but he has vowed not to give up his fight to set up a Preston Cannabis Club. Cannabis campaigner Mike Dobson has vowed to give up growing the drug after a sobering second spell in prison. But [...]

Niagara Falls tourism officials think there's a chance American tourists will cross the border to smoke legal pot. And they are asking whether the area should try to capitalize on American and other home-grown pot tourists by creating licenced pot lounges. With the legalization of cannabis deadline approaching, the province is looking at considering allowing licensed cannabis [...]

A cannabis club where people can smoke freely while watching TV or playing pool has been backed by police in the UK. Users at the Teesside Cannabis Club, the first of its kind, pay an annual £35-membership to get high in peace. The Middlesbrough club, set up by Michael Fisher four years ago, allows for [...]

Two Canadian marijuana growers are hoping to get high on profit after agreeing to merge and create a $6bn (£4.2bn) company. Aurora Cannabis is buying smaller pot producer CanniMed Therapeutics after a far-from-mellow takeover battle between the firms. Canada plans to legalise recreational marijuana before July. And the dope developers are betting on the merger [...]

As the number of actual cannabis sales continues to rise, the actual value of cannabis in large quantities (for wholesale) has somewhat plummeted. This is the effect, but what exactly is the cause? While we would love to lump all this on marijuana's primary enemy, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, it turns out he is not [...]

On Wednesday, January 24th, fifty-four members of Congress representing both political parties sent a letter to President Trump denouncing the recent rescinding of the Cole Memo by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Led by Senator Elizabeth Warren on the Senate side and Representative Jared Polis in the House, the signers stated: “These new policies have helped eliminate the black [...]

Ok, carrying on from the last one, this adds a little bit more uncertainty but thankfully on a smaller level. The appointment of a prohibitionist to a board which regulates the supply, consumption and cultivation of cannabis within a state is always going to raise a few eyebrows and unnerve a few people. Gov. Bill [...]

We posted yesterday about how we were unsure whether Governor Phil Scott had made good on his promise to sign the cannabis legalisation bill, we are now pleased to announce that he has! This is another major step forward for cannabis, solidifying it's popularity and acceptance in these uncertain times. We can only hope that [...]

CALIFORNIA’S progression to legalising marijuana hasn’t been all peace-out and chill. First, many of the new commercial operations set up to grow and supply legal marijuana were burnt out in wildfires late last year. Then on January 1, when adult recreational use became legal, few places had completed the necessary paperwork or received their licences [...]

Seriously, we actually do not know. After Vermont's Republican governor Phil Scott promised to privately sign the bill before Monday, we are currently unsure whether he has done so or not, as he previously reiterated he would do it in private, this is not necessarily a bad sign. Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s deadline for [...]

Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) held a bipartisan special order on Wednesday, January 17th to address the implications surrounding Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to rescind the Cole Memo. Simply put, a special order is a practice in Congress where a member is able to speak on any topic they wish after the House of Representatives has been adjourned [...]

A previously pot friendly rural Northern California county has reversed course and banned commercial marijuana farms, paving the way for lawsuits from growers who previously received permits and paid taxes. A newly constituted Calaveras County board of supervisors last week voted 3-2 to ban marijuana, giving some 200 farmers with permits about three months to [...]

California Congresswoman Barbara Lee is championing Sen. Cory Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act in the House of Representatives. Lee on Wednesday introduced a companion House bill to Booker’s legislative effort to end federal marijuana prohibition introduced in the Senate last August. The House version has 12 co-sponsors, including Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and marks the first time [...]

Finally, here is something concrete for us pro-cannabis reform supporters to get behind! Hopefully this act will help solidify marijuana's status in modern times and protect it from those who would seek to prohibit it and return it to what it once was. Today, Representative Barbara Lee of California along with over a dozen original [...]

It may not be long now before the first legal recreational marijuana shops begin operating in Los Angeles. City officials last Friday started issuing temporary approvals to cannabis businesses, which allows those businesses to apply for state licenses. At the moment, local approvals are only being given out to existing medical marijuana dispensaries that were [...]

Phil Murphy, since the beginning of his campaign, has vowed to legalise cannabis in the state of New Jersey. He has also been highly critical of Donald Trump's administration's approach to the economy, pointing out that cannabis provides great social and economic boosts. Philip Dunton Murphy was sworn in as New Jersey’s 56th governor, vowing [...]

Recreational cannabis has had massive economic effects for states who have opted for it, not only that but the access to marijuana has done wonders for social issues and generally helped boost states generally. However, one unforeseen effect may be the boost it could potentially give to real estate prices. Whether this is good or [...]

Cannabis sales are set to be in excess of $18 billion by 2021. This is an astonishing figure. With such growth in an industry, it is unavoidable that there will be a huge rush of people and companies looking for a slice of the action. There is pretty much an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) for [...]

The medical cannabis revolution is well under way, the race towards unlocking the full potential which we all know is within marijuana is on. It seems that every day we hear of new studies and insights into the medical applications of cannabis, and I for one welcome this. This is the first time I have [...]

Yesterday we posted an article about how state representatives were attempting to stop Jeff Sessions' cannabis crackdown, you can see that article here . Now it is with great happiness that we can inform you that 69 members of congress have already signed their name on this bill, coming out in support of state legalised [...]

Donald Trump is a very polarising figure, cannabis reform has also endured some serious controversy and back lash, so it seemed all the more bizarre when Trump seemed somewhat pro-cannabis, or more so not anti-legalisation, during his bid for the presidency, after all he was never known to hold his tongue on matters if he had [...]

Vermont has been tip-toeing around cannabis reform for a while now. However, now it has finally come time to put pen to paper and legalise the damn thing, sort of. presuming this all goes as planned, Vermont citizens will be able to possess, use and cultivate a certain amount of cannabis. Republican Gov. Phil Scott publicly [...]

In the wake of Jeff Sessions planned cannabis crackdown being announced last week, opposition has arisen by the masses, not just members of the public but state representatives have all stated their displeasure with this plan. While the plan has yet to have been fully put in motion, many are taking preemptive action, with cannabis [...]

When you come across studies like this, it really puts into perspective how regressive Jeff Sessions' cannabis policies are and will be. Trump's presidency has been characterised by him bucking tradition in all the wrong ways while Sessions' sting as AG has consisted of him upholding tradition in all the wrong ways at the expense of [...]

Now that the dust has settled around attorney general Jeff Sessions’ promise of harsher federal marijuana enforcement, advocates of legalization have largely exchanged their initial disappointment over the move for one of long-term optimism. “I think there was a knee-jerk reaction of something approaching panic, but once everyone calmed down, they’ve come to realize that practically [...]

Here we go guys, the revolution marches on! After California officially legalised cannabis at the beginning of the year, New Jersey looks set to potentially follow suit and render cannabis completely legal in the state. This may have come in direct response to Jeff Sessions announcing he plans to bring the full weight of federal law [...]

Cannabis is a difficult thing to advertise, largely due to it's tricky legal status on a federal level, cannabis is not completely legal across America, only in certain states. Now that the number of legalised states seems to be growing rapidly, chances are we will begin to see a lot more in the way of [...]

Today, the Vermont state Senate approved a measure that would legalize the possession and limited home cultivation of marijuana. Under this legislation, H. 511, individuals 21 years of age or older would be able to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and cultivate a limited amount for personal use. “While prohibitionists like Attorney General [...]

A Democratic lawmaker wants to make it easier for Californians with marijuana convictions to reduce or erase their records as the state moves into the next phase of legalized pot. Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, introduced legislation on Tuesday that would require county courts to automatically expunge eligible records. It’s one of several efforts to build [...]

Colorado congressional legislators fired off a letter Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asking that he reconsider last week’s rescission of the Cole Memo and related marijuana guidance. Democratic representatives Jared Polis, Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter, and Republican Rep. Mike Coffman signed the letter to Sessions. In it, they “strongly urge” the Department of [...]

UPDATE 01/09/18 1:30 PM Eastern: New Hampshire House Leadership, instead of sending the approved bill directly to the state Senate, has referred the legislation back to the House Ways and Means Committee. Now, either the committee declines to take action and sends the bill to the state Senate or holds hearings on the bill before [...]

America's cannabis industry is reeling after Jeff Sessions revealed he plans to use all power at his disposal to prohibit cannabis from being sold. This regressive tactic could potentially undo all the work that was done to legalise and decriminalise cannabis in a multitude of states across America this past year. Perhaps even more importantly [...]

When we think of prohibition times, we think of the 'speakeasy' and other such illicit drinking establishments which came about through sales of alcohol being, well, prohibited. This is what we call 'Prohibition Times', a fond memory generally due to how far we perceive our society to have progressed since then. This makes it all [...]

Most Californians with an urge to smoke a joint will enter the state’s legal marijuana marketplace through a single doorway — at a retail shop. But out of view of those day-to-day sales, the state is ushering in a sprawling, untested system to move pot from place to place that will also serve as a [...]

Whether to crack down on marijuana in states where it is legal is a decision that will now rest with those states’ top federal prosecutors, many of whom are deeply rooted in their communities and may be reluctant to pursue cannabis businesses or their customers. When he rescinded the Justice Department’s previous guidance on marijuana, Attorney [...]

Following yesterday’s announcement by the DOJ that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had rescinded the Cole Memo, an Obama-era memorandum issued by Attorney General James Cole in 2013, federal lawmakers on both sides of the aisle quickly denounced the decision. In addition to taking to the floor of the Senate to express his frustrations, Senator Cory [...]

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ policy announcement Thursday giving federal prosecutors more leeway to crack down on legal marijuana set off a political firestorm in Colorado, with some of the state’s fellow Republicans charging the Trump administration with trampling on the will of voters and even over-reach. But the immediate impact of Sessions’ unraveling of several Obama-era policy memos — which set [...]

On Monday, California became the nation’s sixth state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana through the passage of 2016’s Proposition 64. On Tuesday afternoon, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr expressed support for the drug. “I’m a proponent of it,” Kerr said after Tuesday’s practice. “I do feel strongly that (marijuana) is a much [...]

Lawmakers in the Vermont House passed a proposal that would make the Green Mountain State the latest to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. House lawmakers spent much of the day Thursday, with a break during Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s State of the State speech, debating a proposal that was passed by the state Senate last [...]

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rescinded the Department of Justice’s hands-off policy towards state-legal marijuana. “By rescinding the Cole Memo, Jeff Sessions is acting on his warped desire to return America to the failed beliefs of the ‘Just Say No’ and Reefer Madness eras. This action flies in the face of sensible public policy and broad public opinion. The American people [...]

When I returned from Los Angeles last summer, I said goodbye to two dear friends with a heavy heart. One was a small jar of Mondo powder, a cannabinoid-infused coconut oil product I had acquired at a cannabis tupperware party. My wife liked sprinkling it on her toast. The other was a chic sativa vaporiser made by [...]